Vice President addresses Asia on need for trust

BEIJING (VNS) — In Shanghai on Tuesday, Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan stressed the importance of mutual confidence in ensuring peace and stability.

Doan said that trust could only be built through consistent actions and commitments by nations in line with the United Nations Charter and international law.

Attending the fourth Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), the Vice President called on Asian countries to work together to boost dialogue as well as build trust and cooperation to achieve regional aspirations for peace, stability and development.

Regarding the East Sea issue, she reiterated Viet Nam's goodwill in seeking to settle disputes by peaceful means in accordance with international law, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea.

During the conference, attended by 12 heads of state and other high-ranking officials from 26 member countries and representatives from observer countries and international organisations, delegates stressed the need to establish a peaceful and stable environment for common development.

They called for stronger efforts to ensure political, maritime, energy and food security, as well as to foster co-operation in economics, trade, investment, culture and people-to-people exchanges in the region.

The Vietnamese delegation actively joined other delegations in drafting the conference's statement, in which every member confirmed their commitment to the UN Charter and international law as well as respect for each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity and the peaceful settlement of disputes.

On the sidelines of the conference, the Vietnamese Vice President also met the heads of delegations from Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Egypt and Iraq and discussed bilateral issues. — VNS